Have I ever told you the story of the “unreliable narrator?”
You see, every story gets told by a narrator. Sometimes, such a character is front-and-center, while other times the big he or she is allowed to kinda/sorta revolve on the fringe of the main plot. But because yarns ultimately need to be spun by a central voice, it’s important that this speaker be someone audiences can trust. Credibility is always at stake; but when the lead teller of the tale has a deficiency – say, he’s untrustworthy, or he’s given mental problems, or he can’t see things clearly – then the audience is most likely always on the lookout for where the pieces don’t support the puzzle. This is always a delicate balance: having been tried more often than it should, the practice likely fails more than it truly succeeds, so it should be undertaken with a great deal of hesitancy on the part of the filmmakers.
Sadly, it’s a storytelling phenomenon that studios big and small still think they can squeeze a bit of life out of; and this is especially the case when any new mystery involves the rich, famous, good-looking, and shallow. This isn’t to say that such trickery fails every time it’s been tried: again, the truth is that any technique can achieve the desired results so long as there’s great material behind it – along with winning performances and relatable characters. When it all comes together, a production can certainly be something special. But when it all fails?
Well … you get a little something-something that looks, sounds, and feels as bland as does Blackwater Lane (2024).
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Late one night, a woman drives by a stranded motorist who is later revealed to have been murdered. After a series of terrifying events, the woman believes she is the killer’s next victim.”
As a critic, I hate to feel as if I’m picking on any film.
I’ve always taken the approach of trying to find the silver lining to any production I’m afforded access to, whether I ultimately wind-up liking or loathing it in the final regard. (Honestly, there have been very few films I’ve ever hated, so there’s that.) With so many wheels in motion, any effort should have something to offer viewers, be it a winning premise, a great performance, some fabulous production work, or the like. While it’s rare for me to find anything to plant my flag in, it does happen from time-to-time … and that’s about where I am with Blackwater Lane.
You see, every story gets told by a narrator. Sometimes, such a character is front-and-center, while other times the big he or she is allowed to kinda/sorta revolve on the fringe of the main plot. But because yarns ultimately need to be spun by a central voice, it’s important that this speaker be someone audiences can trust. Credibility is always at stake; but when the lead teller of the tale has a deficiency – say, he’s untrustworthy, or he’s given mental problems, or he can’t see things clearly – then the audience is most likely always on the lookout for where the pieces don’t support the puzzle. This is always a delicate balance: having been tried more often than it should, the practice likely fails more than it truly succeeds, so it should be undertaken with a great deal of hesitancy on the part of the filmmakers.
Sadly, it’s a storytelling phenomenon that studios big and small still think they can squeeze a bit of life out of; and this is especially the case when any new mystery involves the rich, famous, good-looking, and shallow. This isn’t to say that such trickery fails every time it’s been tried: again, the truth is that any technique can achieve the desired results so long as there’s great material behind it – along with winning performances and relatable characters. When it all comes together, a production can certainly be something special. But when it all fails?
Well … you get a little something-something that looks, sounds, and feels as bland as does Blackwater Lane (2024).
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Late one night, a woman drives by a stranded motorist who is later revealed to have been murdered. After a series of terrifying events, the woman believes she is the killer’s next victim.”
As a critic, I hate to feel as if I’m picking on any film.
I’ve always taken the approach of trying to find the silver lining to any production I’m afforded access to, whether I ultimately wind-up liking or loathing it in the final regard. (Honestly, there have been very few films I’ve ever hated, so there’s that.) With so many wheels in motion, any effort should have something to offer viewers, be it a winning premise, a great performance, some fabulous production work, or the like. While it’s rare for me to find anything to plant my flag in, it does happen from time-to-time … and that’s about where I am with Blackwater Lane.
Cass Anderson (played by Minka Kelly) has a past checkered with some emotional and psychological problems stemming from the loss of her dearly departed mother. While a wealthy inheritance gave her the opportunity to truly move on with her life – as well as opening up the possibility for true love with her newfound husband Matthew (Dermot Mulroney) – troubles persist in ways only Fate can serve. Still, they’ve moved into a somewhat expansive estate – all with the shared hopes of starting their lives together anew – and she’s doing everything she can to get back to the business of just living.
Driving home from a late evening event at the school where she works, Cass happens across a stopped automobile. It’s a dark and stormy night; and – glancing over from the safety of her car – she can’t tell for certain if the driver requires any assistance. After a short pause, she simply drives away and heads for the safety and comfort of home.
The next day, she learns that the female driver she passed was, in fact, murdered. Over the next few days, Cass begins to doubt what she saw and how it slowly looks like she may very well have been involved in ways she couldn’t imagine. But – at the same time – spectral happenings around the house have her wondering whether or not she’s living in a haunted mansion or she might be headed for another mental breakdown, a sentiment that’s quickly affirmed by Matthew. Slowly, Cass begins conducting her own search for the truth, paralleling the efforts of constable DC Lawson (Natalie Simpson) who now has turned her sights on our lead as well, believing that things are most definitely amiss at the Old Crawford estate (which, incidentally, is also rumored to host ghosts aplenty).
Sigh.
If you can’t tell by that rather bloated synopsis, then let me be clear: Blackwater Lane is a bit of a narrative mess. The script from Elizabeth Fowler and B.A. Paris throws everything but the kitchen sink into the concoction, including rumors of philandering men, women, and schoolchildren, along with tarot cards, burner phones, a mysterious phone caller, a prescient crow, an omniscient fox, and a convenient ‘there he is, there he isn’t’ disappearing stranger. But all of it is deliriously uneven. It both is and isn’t a ghost story. It both is and isn’t a mystery. It both is and isn’t a Horror film. Because it vacillates at every turn, nothing grounds any of it to a sensible core; and I’m left with no single means with which to define the action.
To make matters unmistakably worse, the scripters put all of this soundly on the shoulders of Cass Anderson, a character they’ve dubbed in more ways than one as an ‘unreliable narrator.’ At every turn, the script establishes that she can’t be trusted, not that she’s necessarily lying, but she can’t remember things clearly. She’s potentially hallucinated at every possible turn. Her past has more holes in it than a JJ Abrams script, and the dreaded mystery box – I fear – will eventually be filled with nothing but air, at best. It’s arguable the worst approach a storyteller could take here, but I’m guessing that’s all they’ve got.
What kills me to say all of this is that I’ve always been a fan of Minka Kelly. She has the kind of beautiful magnetism wherein I – as a confident, heterosexual male – would show up to watch her watching paint dry. (One of her male students is obviously as smitten with her as much as I am, so who can blame him?) While I’d stop short at proclaiming her a great actress in any regard (she has a few moments of mental weakness in here that she handles quite deftly), hers is a talent I’ve just enjoyed casually. She shows up, makes a nice impression, and then vanishes until she appears in another project. Her bright eyes and cute smile produce the effect of lighting up a scene; and these traits get shortchanged here because of her character’s professed mental instability. Too much of her performance revolves around the audience not knowing whether she’s ‘with it’ or not; and that dilutes any negligible impact she could’ve had in moments tense, traumatic, or tepid in this too-long Horror-tinged whodunit.
Now, Blackwater Lane had a respectable foundation.
Driving home from a late evening event at the school where she works, Cass happens across a stopped automobile. It’s a dark and stormy night; and – glancing over from the safety of her car – she can’t tell for certain if the driver requires any assistance. After a short pause, she simply drives away and heads for the safety and comfort of home.
The next day, she learns that the female driver she passed was, in fact, murdered. Over the next few days, Cass begins to doubt what she saw and how it slowly looks like she may very well have been involved in ways she couldn’t imagine. But – at the same time – spectral happenings around the house have her wondering whether or not she’s living in a haunted mansion or she might be headed for another mental breakdown, a sentiment that’s quickly affirmed by Matthew. Slowly, Cass begins conducting her own search for the truth, paralleling the efforts of constable DC Lawson (Natalie Simpson) who now has turned her sights on our lead as well, believing that things are most definitely amiss at the Old Crawford estate (which, incidentally, is also rumored to host ghosts aplenty).
Sigh.
If you can’t tell by that rather bloated synopsis, then let me be clear: Blackwater Lane is a bit of a narrative mess. The script from Elizabeth Fowler and B.A. Paris throws everything but the kitchen sink into the concoction, including rumors of philandering men, women, and schoolchildren, along with tarot cards, burner phones, a mysterious phone caller, a prescient crow, an omniscient fox, and a convenient ‘there he is, there he isn’t’ disappearing stranger. But all of it is deliriously uneven. It both is and isn’t a ghost story. It both is and isn’t a mystery. It both is and isn’t a Horror film. Because it vacillates at every turn, nothing grounds any of it to a sensible core; and I’m left with no single means with which to define the action.
To make matters unmistakably worse, the scripters put all of this soundly on the shoulders of Cass Anderson, a character they’ve dubbed in more ways than one as an ‘unreliable narrator.’ At every turn, the script establishes that she can’t be trusted, not that she’s necessarily lying, but she can’t remember things clearly. She’s potentially hallucinated at every possible turn. Her past has more holes in it than a JJ Abrams script, and the dreaded mystery box – I fear – will eventually be filled with nothing but air, at best. It’s arguable the worst approach a storyteller could take here, but I’m guessing that’s all they’ve got.
What kills me to say all of this is that I’ve always been a fan of Minka Kelly. She has the kind of beautiful magnetism wherein I – as a confident, heterosexual male – would show up to watch her watching paint dry. (One of her male students is obviously as smitten with her as much as I am, so who can blame him?) While I’d stop short at proclaiming her a great actress in any regard (she has a few moments of mental weakness in here that she handles quite deftly), hers is a talent I’ve just enjoyed casually. She shows up, makes a nice impression, and then vanishes until she appears in another project. Her bright eyes and cute smile produce the effect of lighting up a scene; and these traits get shortchanged here because of her character’s professed mental instability. Too much of her performance revolves around the audience not knowing whether she’s ‘with it’ or not; and that dilutes any negligible impact she could’ve had in moments tense, traumatic, or tepid in this too-long Horror-tinged whodunit.
Now, Blackwater Lane had a respectable foundation.
Though I’m not sure director Jeff Celentano knew what he wanted from all of this, the film looks interesting here and there so far as production setting and details can carry any effort. It has a gossamer sheen – it hints at a kinda/sorta loose expose into the world of those seeking fortune and fame by illicit means, the way many a script trafficked in Adult Thrillers of the 1990’s and early 2000’s – but none of it gains traction, mostly because Kelly’s perspective is spoiled with mental hang-ups fairly early. I spent far too much time watching scenery – knowing that she was erratic, at best – and I suspect most audiences will come away from this one feeling as if it was little more than a Lifetime Movie elevated to mildly greater aspirations with a respectable cast.
Blackwater Lane (2024) was produced by Clear Pictures Entertainment, SSS Entertainment, SSS Film Capital, Grindstone Entertainment Group, Kompros Films, Lipsync Productions, and Picture Perfect. The film shows as presently available via its theatrical release or digital streaming on a variety of platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought that the provided sights-and-sounds were quite good across the length of the flick. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? As I viewed this one via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Sigh. Blackwater Lane (2024) is that kind of film that kinda/sorta promises one story but then veers almost entirely in another direction for its – ahem – big (not really) finish. As a mystery, there’s no possible way a viewer can assemble the pieces on his or her own because far too much of what transpires is described by Cass Anderson, a proven unreliable narrator. In fact, one might even suspect that that’s entirely why it was constructed as is: this was the only way to loosely guarantee no one would guess the guilty culprit. But when there are only one or two choices of whodunit all along? Well, you’d be a fool not to see this big reveal coming … unless you’d fallen asleep from the relentlessly turgid pacing.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Lionsgate provided me with complimentary streaming access to Blackwater Lane (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Blackwater Lane (2024) was produced by Clear Pictures Entertainment, SSS Entertainment, SSS Film Capital, Grindstone Entertainment Group, Kompros Films, Lipsync Productions, and Picture Perfect. The film shows as presently available via its theatrical release or digital streaming on a variety of platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought that the provided sights-and-sounds were quite good across the length of the flick. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? As I viewed this one via streaming, there were no special features under consideration.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
Sigh. Blackwater Lane (2024) is that kind of film that kinda/sorta promises one story but then veers almost entirely in another direction for its – ahem – big (not really) finish. As a mystery, there’s no possible way a viewer can assemble the pieces on his or her own because far too much of what transpires is described by Cass Anderson, a proven unreliable narrator. In fact, one might even suspect that that’s entirely why it was constructed as is: this was the only way to loosely guarantee no one would guess the guilty culprit. But when there are only one or two choices of whodunit all along? Well, you’d be a fool not to see this big reveal coming … unless you’d fallen asleep from the relentlessly turgid pacing.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Lionsgate provided me with complimentary streaming access to Blackwater Lane (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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